Flush-tank lever



March 21, 1933. w CAMPBELL 1,902,758 I FLUSH TANK LEVER Filed March 2,1951 Patented Mar. 21 1933 PATENT v OFFICE v WILLIAM B. CAMPBELIL, orNASHVILLE, TENNESSEE,

'FLUSH-IANK LEVER Application filed March 2, 1931. Serial No. 519,670.

My invention relates to an improvement in flush-tank levers.

The object of my invention is to insure prompt closing of the valve ofthe tank upon flushing the bowl. 7

A further object is to provide mechanism which is altogether practicaland very simple to manufacture, and which can be produced as cheaply asthe flush mechanism now on the market.

WVith these objects in view, this invention consists in a flush-tanklever composed essentially of three separate parts and combining. theprinciples of the rotary type lever and the double-acting type leverwith a non-hanging feature. Combined with the lever is a revolving meansstudded with projections, a lever-arm and a reversible cam. Theprojections on the rotating means press down on the fixed cam, causingthe lever to lift, and the projections press against the cam along itssloping surface until the high point of the lever is reached where theedge of the projections meet an edge on the cam and immediately startsthe lever downward.

The passing of the two edges constitutes the non-hanging feature of thelever action.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation showing the mechanism within thetank, a portion of the tank being shown in vertical section; and

Fig. 2 is a plan view, a portion of the tank being shown in horizontalsection.

The numeral 1 represents a lever, which is fulcrumed through a pin 2 onthe supporting-arm 3, which latter is secured within the tank in anyapproved manner, as for instance by means of the hollow bolt 4. A handle5 has a stem 6, and a rotatable means 7 is rigidly secured to the stem 6by a nut or other means 8. This rotatable means has a number ofprojections 9 thereon, four shown equally distant from one another,

and these projections are in position to traverse the edges of the cam10 as viewed inFig. 1. I v Y i This cam 10 is rigidly secured by asetscr'ew 11 or otherwise to the short, goosenecked end of the lever 1.l r 1 It will be. observed that the cam, 10, has an edge 12, and it isthe passage of the edge of one of the projections9 across the edge 12that precludes the possibility of the lever everhanging, andby the timethe edges I come together the lever has been lifted and the bowl hasbeen flushed and the very weight of the lever 1 causes the edgesto slideback from point l2 on the cam, and the rotatable means to resume itsnormal position as shown in Fig.1. 7

A mechanism of this construction will not hang and hold the flush-valveup above the valve-seat, thereby l preventing the fiushvalve fromreturning and" seating itself 1 on the valve-seat and wasting water-asthe present levers now on the market frequently do. On the contrary,theaction is perfeet, and the flush-valve always autoinatically returnsto the -valve-seatwhen the tank is flushed as this lever has no deadcenter to cause it to h'angat any position.

By my construction I have acombination of the rotary principle and thedouble-acting principle all in one as applied to a flushtank lever; inshort this device may be manufactured either as a rotary type, :adoubleacting type, or; as a combination of the, two types, eitherseparately or collectively. 30

This change is. made: by loosening the set screw 11, removing the screw14, whereupon the position of the cam 10 may be directly reversed byturning it through 180. This changed position of. the cam converts the 5rotary lever into a double-acting lever. After having its position thusreversed, the screw 14 is inserted into a hole 15in the cam 10, which isnow in registry with. a threaded hole 16 the lever which receives thescrew 14. The set screw 11 and screw 14:

are now screwed tight until the cam 10 is rigid on the goose-neck oflever 1 in the position in which it has been adjusted.

The projection 13 on the cam is the means whereby the change is madefrom the rotary type to the double-acting type of lever.

The lever 1 is raised and lowered by pressing either right or left onthe operating handle 5 located on the outside of the flush tank.

Whentheilever is used as a rotary leveror as a double-acting type oflever,-the' handle 5 will assume any of four positions as can be shownby drawing a straight line from center to center of any two of the"projections 9, and then starting from this straight line at a pointone-half of the distance between any of the two projections 9, anddrawing a straight line to the center of stem ,6. 'Tliis will show thefour positions that the handle?) will assume in operating, when thelever is being used either as a rotary lever, o r 'a double-acting typeof lever.

The action of the rotatable-means, with its projections comingin'contact with the "cam,involves a new principle of lever operation.

" When the lever is used as a double-acting lever, the handle 5 canassume any of fourpositions, namely-The position shown by handle5 inFig. 1, or a po'sition'directly opposite this position, or hangingstraight down, or straight up. By pushing down on the cam 10 untilprojection 13 on cam 10 is pushed down far enough to clear theprojections 9, then by rotating handle 5- to any of .thef'our positionswanted, and then releasing the cam 10, the weight of the lever 1willautomatically move the stop 13 on cam '10 to the position wanted,and it will then be ready for use by rotating the handle 5 accordinglyas desired. It will only take a few seconds time to do this.

The lever can be used with ahandle shaped like a four-armed basin cockhandle, or

shaped like a doorknob, instead of using a handle like the handle 5,shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, I

While I have endeav'ored'to describe this invention as I have tested itout, at the same time, I do not wish to limit myself to the constructionshown, the essential features being a flush-tank levercombining'the'prlnciples of the rotary type levers and the double-actingtype lever with non-hanging features. Y Y

I particularly emphasize the following features, to wit:

(1') -'Means pressing down on the fixed cam causing the" lever to lift.

j (2 The edged means pressing against the camf along its sloping surfaceuntil the high point of the lever is reached, where the edge of theedged means meets the edge of the 'directiom'when used as having astem-,"said stemhaving means thereon in position to engage and traversethe edges of the cam, the cam and said means 'having edges in positionto meet and pass when the lever is actuated to prevent hanging, theprojection formation on the cam acting as a stop, when the cam isproperly set to limit the turn of the handle in either a double-actinglever. s 2. A lever mechanism for flush-tanks provided' witha lever,an'operatinghand'le, and a cam between the lever and handlea-"Iid havingmeans thereon for convertinggthe operating handle from a rotary into adouble-acting type of handle.

3. The combination of rotatablemeansya lever, a cam carried by the leverin the path WILLIAM B. CAMPBELLQV 595 of the rotatable means androtatably-adjust-

